I Want To Hold Your Hand
by QuirkyChameleon
Summary: this is a piece dedicated to CharmedMoon84, whose birthday was yesterday! Happy birthday, dear! This is a humorous musing of Ron Weasley's before, during, and after his and Hermione's little hand touch during the Prizoner of Azkaban. Enjoy!


**I Want To Hold Your Hand…Well Perhaps Not**

Hagrid had deemed it a good idea to show the third years how to tame Hippogriffs that day. Not that that didn't seem remotely dangerous to any of them except Hagrid, of course. Ron rolled his eyes inwardly; he half expected Hagrid to just bring in some sort of man-eating creature and have done with it. Of course, he hadn't yet known anything about Hippogriffs. He considered this to himself as he trudged to Care of Magical Creatures with Harry and Hermione. He could imagine the supposed Hippogriff eating a student, with the students running wildly around and Hagrid trying to calm them and the creature down, saying "It's harmless, he jus' got hungry!"

Ron chuckled to himself. Leave it up to Hagrid to put all their lives in danger in the course of a single school lesson. Then again, when hadn't that happened at Hogwarts?

Hagrid announced the creature with a great spreading of his arms.

It stood there, gazing at them with fierce yellow eyes. Ron felt Hermione draw up beside him and Harry come up on his other side.

"Isn't he beau'iful?" said Hagrid admiringly. "Say hello to Buckbeak!"

He tossed the thing a dead ferret and it ate hungrily, peering curiously around at the class.

While it was not something that Ron would necessarily call beautiful, it was certainly impressive.

"Hagrid," said Ron, his throat dry. "Exactly what is that?"

Ron knew he'd sound stupid asking, since Hermione probably already knew what they were staring at. He wondered what she thought of the thing, or what she knew, which was undoubtedly everything.

_Such a know-it-all_, he mused.

"That, Ron, is a Hippogriff," said Hagrid impressively. "First thing you wanna know about Hippogriffs, they're very proud creatures. You do not want to insult a Hippogriff. It might just be the last thing you ever do."

He beamed at their horrified faces.

"So!" he said, clapping his hands. "Who'd like to come and say hello?"

Hagrid had succeeded in taking away all desire to want to get near the Hippogriff now, and nearly the entire class chose to distance themselves. Only Harry remained still.

"Well done, Harry, well done!" beamed Hagrid. Harry stood there, looking around confusedly. Ron stepped forward and gave him a small push; if anyone should test the creature's friendliness, it should be Harry. After all, he was the risk-taker.

"That's it," Hagrid chided. "Yeh let him take the first move. On'y polite. So…take a bow, see if he bows back. If he does, you can go touch him. If not…"

He gave that same sort of smile that he'd given to all their horrified faces moments ago.

"Well, we'll worry about that later."

_Too right_, thought Ron. _Later, when it's attacked one of the kids or something else of the sort_. _Later, when Hagrid would still be flagrantly defending the bloody thing. _It was just one of those things you had to shake your head and smile at. Typical Hagrid.

"Nice and low," Hagrid instructed as Harry bowed.

Buckbeak flapped his wings and squawked menacingly.

"Back off, Harry, back off!" said Hagrid urgently.

Harry stepped back and a twig cracked under his foot. Hermione gasped and seized Ron's sleeve.

Ron frowned slightly at this but he made no comment. She was probably grabbing onto the nearest friend's sleeve, which happened to be him. No big deal. If Harry had been there with them she probably would have done that to him.

Harry reached out his hand and Buckbeak snapped at it.

Hermione gasped again and seized Ron's hand.

It took Ron only moments to realize that this had happened. He was so initially shocked that all he knew to do was move away from Hermione and let go of her hand. She did the same, looking slightly embarrassed.

Ron was now in a daze. How odd that had felt; had he really felt a small tingling sensation when her hand had touched his? Did he really secretly admire the softness of Hermione's hand, or how her hand had felt with his? Was he really getting butterflies in his stomach just thinking about it? _Hermione?_

He watched the rest of the lesson without much interest. Why did he feel this way? It was an odd feeling. He wasn't quite sure if he liked it. This was _Hermione Granger_ he was thinking about; bookworm, bushy hair, know-it-all, swallowed-the-textbook Hermione Granger. What in the world was so special about her? She was just a friend…wasn't she?

Hopelessly puzzled as he would be for the next four years of his life, Ron Weasley walked back to the castle with Harry and Hermione, confused but somehow oddly enlightened, as if he'd had some sudden epiphany.

Did he _fancy_ her?


End file.
